Castles In The Sky
by SilentRivers
Summary: Joey is going through hard times and he doesn't know how to help himself. Can his friends pull him through?


Author Name- Krimson_Quill Title- Castles In The Sky Rating- NC-17 Authors Notes- It's important to me that my fics have a PLOT and aren't just never ending hormonal rampages of youth. This wont be a one shot by any means.  
  
Chapter 1  
(One Homeless Puppy For Sale!)  
  
Joey had fallen asleep on the couch, as usual, while waiting for his father to come home. The cheap digital clock on the T.V. blinked 3:30am with it's sickly green light. It was by far not the most comfortable couch to sleep on, but he had been so tired after school he wouldn't have cared if it had been a stone slab. He mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep before rolling over and nearly falling off the couch when he thought he heard a gunshot quite near his head. *KNOCK...KNOCK!!*....He caught himself and staggered to his feet as he rubbed sleep from his still dream hazed blue eyes. 'Stupid door...bangin away at this hour...probably just Pops...' he thought sleepily to himself, clumsily unlatching and opening the door.  
  
He was wide awake in an instant at the sight that greeted him. A uniformed officer, looking like he meant buisness was standing in his doorway. The officer took out his badge for Joey to inspect before speaking. "I'm Officer Langden and I'm looking for a young man by the name of Joseph Anthony Wheeler. Do you know where I might find him?" he asked politely. It took a minute for Joey to remember he posessed the ability of human speech. "Uh...yeah, that's me. What can I do for you?" The officers eyes softened as he looked sadly at Joey. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, son."......  
  
{At The Police Station}  
  
Joey sat in front of the caseworkers desk after just being informed matter-of-factly that his father had been the unfortunate victim of a knifing at the bar he frequented most nights. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to cry or dance around the desk like a mad man. At first he'd felt a great weight lift from his shoulders at being free of his fathers abuse. Several wounds were still quite fresh on his back. But then a nagging fear began to take over his mind. What would happen to him now? He didn't have anywhere to go. The caseworker, a sour looking woman in her late fourties, put down her pen and stared intently at Joey. "You do realize, Mr. Wheeler, the seriousness of your current situation?" she asked kindly. "Yes, ma'am" he replied respectfully as she shuffled more papers.  
  
"I've already been in touch with your biological mother, and it seems she is financialy unable to care for you since your younger sister is already in her custody. If a guardian can not be arranged for you within a 24 hour period I will have no choice but to hand you over to state custody. Which means you would either be placed in an orphanage or assigned a foster home of our choosing. Is there anyone you can contact on your behalf?" she asked worriedly.  
  
Joey wracked his brain, knowing he had no family he could count on. He thought of his friends...Yugi, Tristan, Ryou....he could always count on them when the chips were down. Yugis Gramps! He was the most responsible adult he knew, surely he'd be willing to help him out. "Yeah, I can call my best friends grandfather. He doesn't live far from here" Joey offered hopefully. The caseworker picked up the phone. "Very well then Mr. Wheeler, what's the number?"  
  
{4:42am At The Motou Residence}  
  
Yugi heard the phone ring downstairs but he wasn't sure if it was real or only a dream, so he didn't bother getting up. Luckily, Mr. Motou was just getting up when it rang. He answered quickly, curious as to who would be calling at this hour. "Motou residence" he said, a bit irritated as he glanced at the clock on the mantel. "Yes, this is he. How may I help you?"......"Joey? Is he alright?"....."I see, that is quite unfortunate."....."Yes, I'll come down right away. Thank you, good bye then.".....he replaced the phone quietly and slipped into his coat. No need to wake Yugi, he would have to be up for school in only a few hours. Let the child sleep a bit longer. He hastily wrote a note and left it on the T.V. before leaving.  
  
{Back At The Station}  
  
Joey sat devouring a burger and fries one of the officers had brought him, he was grateful beyond belief to actualy be eating. He was lucky if he ate most days since most of his Pops wages had gone to booze. So he had to get by the best he could. He was trying his best to keep his fear at bay as he concentrated on his food. He saw Mr. Motou come in and was about to go say hi when the social worker lady motioned him to stay put as she guided Mr. Motou into a side room and shut the door.  
  
Now that he was alone there was nothing to distract him from his memories and he was too weary to fight them off anyway. It had't always been bad, when they were still a family. His Pops used to be his hero, always doing guy stuff with him. Fishing, sporting events, just father and son stuff. He missed that. They had been so happy. It didn't start getting bad until his Pops got a new job and started working late most nights. He'd come home drunk and his mom would try to talk to him but it always ended up in a big fight with his mom trying to hide a new bruise the next morning.  
  
Joey didn't learn until later that his Pops was having an affair with some girl at his job and went drinking with her a lot. That's when his mom divorced him. He'd only been 12 and Serenity had been 7. The judge had given son to father and daughter to mother. He thought it was the best arrangement for us. That's when his drinking got worse, some nights he didn't even bother to come home. But when he did he usualy took out his frustration on him. He'd been hurt and confused at first, then angry, then depressed, then he just forgot to care anymore. His life had been one big painful bruise until he'd met Yugi, and for the first time he actualy looked forward to getting up in the mornings.  
  
He sighed dejectedly as he took a peek at the clock on the wall. 6:12am. 'Man, how long were they gonna be in there?' he asked himself and jumped when the door opened unexpectedly. Mr. Motou walked over to Joey and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Joey looked up at Gramps and saw him smiling warmly, though his eyes showed a glint of sadness for what Joey had been through. The social worker quickly gathered a stack of papers as she adressed Joey. "Your very fortunate, Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Motou has agreed to take full custody until you reach your 18th birthday. As soon as we clear up one final detail you'll be free to go with him to your new home." she informed him.  
  
"What final detail?" Joey asked curiously, not sure if he realy wanted to know. The lady fidgeted with her pencils before clearing her throat. "Well, we'll have to take a trip down to the city mourge. You have to identify your fathers body before it can be released to the coroner." she explained, a look of dread in her eyes. Joey hadn't been expecting this, why did he have to say the body was his fathers? He always carried his I.D. Why did he have to tell them who he was? "Lets go then, the sooner we complete this the sooner you can get on with your life Mr. Wheeler." she said briskly as she ushered them out and into a waiting car.  
  
{At The Mourge}  
  
He was seeing it, but he still didn't believe it. His father was truly dead. The body right in front of him. He couldn't help mentaly laughing at himself. 'What did you expect Wheeler? Did you think it was all a cruel joke and he'd pop up and smash your face in?' Yeah, that's what he'd thought at first. But seeing it, the blood...there was so much of it. The skin had been literaly carved from most of his body as if someone had gone to great pains to make him suffer before simply slitting his throat. It was almost to much even for him to look at. He was no stranger to death and violence, having pretty much grown up on the streets.  
  
But still, he wouldn't have wished this upon anyone. Not even his Pops. Tears began streaming down his face as he clenched his fists helplessly. It was all catching up to him, and he just couldn't take it all in. He ran from the cold room where the bodies were stored and dashed into the mens toilet. The contents of his recent meal easily found it's way down the drain when he flushed. He walked weakly to the sink and splashed his face with cold water, willing himself to get a grip.  
  
"Pull it together Wheeler, your made of tougher stuff than this." he told his reflection in a ragged voice. He stood up and brushed a lock of hair from his eyes before returning to make his confirmation. But when he opened the restroom door Gramps was there waiting for him. "It's alright, Joey. You don't have to go back." he told him as he led him to the front desk where Joey was instructed to sign one last form and that would be the end of it. It felt as if he were signing off on a chapter of his life he'd sooner forget then re-read. But even so, inside he was grieving for the family he once had, the father he'd once worshipped and would never see again, and a future he wasn't sure what to do with.  
  
{Back At The Motou Residence}  
  
It was close to 8am when they got back to the Turtle Game Shop and Yugi had already left to school. Mr. Motou hadn't told Yugi the reason why he'd left so early. He'd find out soon enough. Joey had sat heavily on the sofa with his head in his hands. "Are you alright, Joey?" Gramps asked worriedly as he came to sit beside the youth. "No, but I will be. I have to be." Joey said, determined not to break down again. Gramps watched as the boys whole body shook and felt his old heart go out to him. A child shouldn't have to endure such hardship. He gently pulled Joey into a comforting hug as he keened his grief into the mans shoulder without shame.  
  
"I can't imagine what you've been through and I'm truly sorry for all you've lost, but I want you to know that this is your home now. I want you to feel safe and cared for hear as if you were my own flesh and blood. You've got a chance now to make your dreams come true, to live a happy, normal life. And I'll do my best to help you along the way Joey." Gramps whispered to him soothingly before letting him go and handing him a tissue. "Now, I think we could both do with a bit of breakfast. And I don't want you to worry about school today. You can return tommorow if your up to it." he said as he went into the kitchen to give Joey a chance to collect himself.  
  
Joey stared gratefully at Gramps retreating back as he wiped his nose and wondered how he'd ever gotten so lucky to have such awesome friends. Soon he was sitting down to eggs, toast, and bacon with nice cold orange juice. He thought he'd never be able to eat again after what he'd seen, but how wrong he was. His stomach felt like a bottomless pit and he was tired of chewing before he finaly got full. Of course there was no need to worry about leftovers since there wasn't a scrap of food left. Gramps could't help laughing at Joeys voracious appetite. "You've done this old man proud my boy. I haven't seen such champion scarfing since my days at University." he praised proudly as Joey grinned happily before yawining so hard he felt his jaw pop.  
  
"But, first things first. I think a good, long nap would do you a world of good." Gramps said as he led Joey to Yugis room. "You can sleep here for now and we'll make better arrangements tonight. If you need anything I'll just be downstairs." he informed Joey as he shut the door quietly. He didn't realize just how beat he was until he lay down on the bed and the next thing he knew he heard a loud bang downstairs and a very cheery voice. "Granpa, I'm home!" Yugi shouted before Gramps could tell him Joey was sleeping upstairs.  
  
Joey smiled at the thought of Yugis happy face. He got up and stretched before heading downstairs to say hi to his best friend. He stopped at the first step when he heard hushed voices and Yugis gasp. Gramps must be telling him what's going on. Guess I'll just hang out in Yugis room until they're done. He found a deck of cards in the desk and started building a house of cards while he waited. He remembered Gramps said he had a chance to make his dreams come true. He couldn't even remember what it was like to dream anymore.  
  
All his dreams had been beaten out of him years ago. But he did have a dream once, before he'd gotten into Duel Monsters. When he was about 5 he'd decided he wanted to be a carpentar. His father used to like to make things out of wood and he'd loved to watch him take a formless chunk of log and whittle it into a beautiful deer or a dolphin. He realy had been talented. But that was in another life. He didn't even know if he would have the same talent. Maybe one day he'd try, just to say he'd tried giving it a chance.  
  
He heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and the vibration brought his 8 story card house toppling to the ground. 'Just like my dreams' he thought to himself. The door creaked open quietly as a spiked head peered in. "I'm awake Yugi" he said, smiling in amusement. Yugi bounded into the room and nearly knocked him flat in a fierce hug. "Joey! Grandpa told me everything, I'm so sorry!" he said as tears raced down his cheeks. "Hey, it's cool Yugi. I'll be fine, just need some time to regroup." Joey reassured him, and himself as he began picking up the fallen cards. Yugi looked at the cards curiously. "Joey, what were you playing?" Yugi asked curiously. A wistful look crept into his Joeys eyes as he picked up the ace of hearts. "Oh, nothing realy. Just seeing if I still knew how to dream."  
  
TBC  
  
Authors Notes- I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. If you feel like leaving a review feel free to do so. Chapter two is already in the works. As always, thanks for reading.:) 


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